In dark days for democracy, it is up to all of us to bring in the light(Philadelphia Inquirer)
December 25, 2019 - 5:30 AM
by The Inquirer Editorial Board
... far too many families who are struggling with poverty, low incomes, and a rising cost of living. How many kids will not receive a holiday present this year because of the recent roll back of food stamps and Social Security disability benefits?
American despair is so pronounced that after six decades of increase, life expectancy of Americans has declined for three consecutive years. Behind the trend is the increase in drug overdose, suicides, and alcoholic liver disease. Our region is not immune to despair. Philadelphia lost more than 1,100 people to drug overdose in 2018...
The term “personal responsibility” has gotten a bad reputation. For decades, it has been used politically to maintain an image of an American dream in which every American has a chance to grow wealth...We know that that’s not true. The personal responsibility that will outshine the darkness of these bleak days is the one that President John F. Kennedy was referring to in his inaugural address when he implored Americans to ask not what their country can do for them, but what they can do for their country. Then, and now, the focus needs to be a commitment to community.
"Tolerance and acceptance are among our founding values, and diversity is one of Philadelphia’s greatest strengths,” Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement accompanying a letter to the Trump administration expressing the city’s consent to accept refugees.
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/editorials/america-democracy-trump-deaths-of-despair-christmas-20191225.html
